Summary: | This paper presents a brief review of interval-based hypothesis testing, widely used in bio-statistics, medical science, and psychology, namely, tests for minimum-effect, equivalence, and non-inferiority. We present the methods in the contexts of a one-sample <i>t</i>-test and a test for linear restrictions in a regression. We present applications in testing for market efficiency, validity of asset-pricing models, and persistence of economic time series. We argue that, from the point of view of economics and finance, interval-based hypothesis testing provides more sensible inferential outcomes than those based on point-null hypothesis. We propose that interval-based tests be routinely employed in empirical research in business, as an alternative to point null hypothesis testing, especially in the new era of big data.
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